Surprising and wonderfully written! I never had the slightest interest in bondage, but the way you have painted it here, I suddenly understood it, in mind and body and I can see that at some occasions it will be a relief indeed.

However, Muriel truly masters the art of bondage, of dominance and submission. You have made eminently clear how important it is to read the reactions, smallest reactions even, in order for BD to really work - or that is what I get from your story and I can hardly imagine that it will be as enjoyable and as effective if the dominant partner is not as artful as Muriel here.

Not only this chapter was wonderful, I also loved the other two, about the backstory of Muriel and a bit about Griselda. Your Muriel, Griselda and Minerva, convincingly brilliant here, are wonderful to read about and I enjoyed Albus's appearance very much too.

A really inspiring story and beautifully written, inviting to identify with your characters. And when I say inspiring I don't mean to start experimenting straight away, but to think about relations, love, sex.

Your story caught my interest because of it's seldomly used pairings (I can't recall ever having read a story with those pairings). I have to say that it was a delight to read your story because you didn't make it soppy or clichéd but gave your characters insight and a lovable personality. Also, I'd like to point out that I think very highly of your writing style - that clearly made it quite a good read!

I really enjoyed myself! Well done! :)

PS: I'm also interested in the new story you promissed at the end of chapter 3 and hope that you'll post it soon! :)

Two words come to mind as I finish this chapter: "perceptive" and "hot." (and "wow" and "beautifully-written" and a few others, of course. But especially "perceptive" and HOT.)

Muriel's thoughts on why Minerva might initially resist being the sub - spot-on insights (and what a fine job they do of characterizing Albus, too.)

"stretched out on the bed as a stone effigy on a tomb."

Haha! So perfectly Minerva. Gryffindor traits at their best and worst. That Muriel avoids smiling is quite a tribute to her own strength.

So many effective elements: the idea that submission is a choice, the notion that once Minerva chooses it, she can't help but excel at it (ha), Muriel using just her voice as her power, the way she confounds Minerva's predictions/expectations.

"Talk about chess, Muriel thought. Was there ever a better opening gambit?"

And I love Muriel's direct way of making her request: so IC.

You handle the whole "trust" issue very well, I think, as with Muriel's revelation: "A 'no' would be about more than black silk bonds. Had it been like that for Griselda? Merlin, the courage it took." The notion of "liberation," too, works so well for both of them (and that list of types of love-making...mmmm.)

Then there's the "academic question" - yes, so Minerva! Made me smile.

And while we're speaking from an academic standpoint, let me say what an interesting meta dimension you've added, letting the reader experience the same sort of yielding of control that Minerva will feel. Some readers might believe that it's a bit sadistic of you to force them to **visualize** for an entire week before the story reaches its climax, as it were. But I, of course, realize that you're merely being a good (not exactly head) mistress.

So well-written as usual. Your Griselda and Muriel (such charming girls) go beyond characters; they read like real people to me. I love seeing them in their younger years, with the seeds of their canon versions so clearly having already sprouted. I also love your subtle subversion of Robert's language and viewpoint - how you let Muriel take the repressive motive of "time and place" and reclaim it as, in a way, the source of her own liberation.

Robert is a wonderful creation: not monstrous, not malicious, but so much the painful epitome of his own sexist "time and place." I can just hear his plummy, self-satisfied voice.

Great lines:

"Funny, that was. When she had learned to be outspoken enough to call it sex, there had finally been a reason to say making love."

-one of my all-time favorite lines

"Yes, dear Robert, there is a time and a place for everything, and a truly productive and well-focussed moment to draft a mental to-do-list for the next week is during …"

-ahahaha

"No.

It was Griselda who had taught her to say that 'no' out loud, with only a minimal amount of guilt."